Jump to content
The Political Lounge

Inflation Poll

The Blood

By The Blood
in Political Forum

 Share

Inflation Poll  

23 members have voted

  1. 1. When it comes to the currently elevated levels of inflation in the US, which factor do you blame most for rising prices? (Your answer doesn't have to discount the other two choices as contributing factors, it's just the one choice of the three which you think is most important to current inflation)

    • Government stimulus efforts in response to COVID-19(consisting of both fiscal and monetary policy)
      8
    • Global supply chain disruptions caused by COVID-19
      11
    • Corporate price gouging
      5

  2. 2. The Federal Reserve has announced rough plans for a total of 7 hikes in its primary interest rate in 2022, with the first hike of 0.25% being announced on Wednesday and a median prediction for rates to be at 1.9% by the end of the year. How do you feel about this approach?

    • It needs to be much more aggressive - ruthlessly and rapidly raise rates to bring down inflation, Volcker Shock style.
      1
    • It needs to be more aggressive - raise rates more aggressively while still taking care to prevent a major economic downturn.
      10
    • I agree with the path set out by the Federal Reserve to bring inflation down.
      5
    • It needs to be less aggressive - raise rates less aggressively to prevent a recession and maintain growth.
      6
    • The Fed should be keeping its primary rate at 0-0.25% and let inflation sort itself out.
      2

  3. 3. Should the Federal Government be reducing its deficit to help curb inflation?

    • Yes, the Federal Government should be reducing its deficit to help lower demand and reduce inflation.
      10
    • The Federal Government should maintain current levels of spending, taking care not to spend more into an overheated economy but not taking direct action to reduce inflation.
      10
    • No, the Federal Government should be increasing the deficit to address the key issues facing the American people beyond inflation. Inflation control should be left as a monetary matter to the Federal Reserve.
      4

  4. 4. Do you believe price controls would be an effective response to rising consumer prices?

  5. 5. How have rising prices affected your view of the Joe Biden Presidency?

    • Very negatively.
      3
    • Negatively.
      9
    • No change.
      12
    • Positively.
      0
    • Very positively.
      0

Recommended Posts

vcczar

vcczar

Posted
Posted

I can't respond to this because my knowledge of 21st century economics is too basic and I'm confident that the complexity of it makes me unable to respond with any confidence. Here are my answers to the best of my abilities: 

1. I feel like the supply chain issues with COVID are the primary factor. I can answer this one. If these issues did not exist or never existed, I don't think inflation would be anywhere close to how it is at the moment. 

2. This is where I get stumped. I have no ability to comprehend what the Federal Reserve does that is regularly effective or not effective. My gut instinct, based on what you write is, raise the rates as high up as possible, so long as the chance of decreasing inflation is greater than the chance of incurring a recession. 

3. I'm a firm believer in investing in the American people. I have no issue with deficit spending. I think inflation can decrease without cutting spending. I would favor cutting spending only if 1) it is the ONLY way inflation will decrease, and 2) that decreasing inflation is absolutely essential for maintaining America's quality of life and cost of living. 

4. According to something I read in Forbes, Price Controls have never worked, other than temporarily. Therefore, I'd consider temporary price controls, but probably nothing more than 3 months. The hope would be the controls would reinvigorate aspects of the economy to get it back on track, and then they can be removed. I'm not set on price controls either way. 

5. No change in my opinion of Joe Biden. This is outside his control and it would have happened to Trump or Hillary Clinton. I think the only thing that would change my opinion on Biden, in regards to inflation, is if he was purposely raising it--prioritizing raising it--against the will of the American people. The inflation, as I see it, is just a byproduct of a global issue that he can only very lightly control. 

I should say one thing that might impact my view on inflation. As someone who takes a train to work and back and works from home for my other two jobs, gas prices bear no impact on me. In fact, I live where I don't even see gas prices! Everything that I pay for is of approximately the same price as it was for me four years ago. In fact, I'll go so far to say that I wouldn't even know inflation existed if I wasn't reading about it. That said, I know it's hurting a lot of other people, so I obviously want to Biden prioritize decreasing it. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
The Blood

The Blood

Posted
  • Author
Posted
3 minutes ago, vcczar said:

I can't respond to this because my knowledge of 21st century economics is too basic and I'm confident that the complexity of it makes me unable to respond with any confidence. Here are my answers to the best of my abilities: 

I can understand you here. I think it's important that everyone have a baseline level of understanding in economics, but even then, for someone who isn't academically practiced in the subject it can be daunting to try and form any sort of opinion on monetary policy and such, especially when even now there's lots of disagreement and debate in academic circles over the nuances of macroeconomic policy. But as someone who is academically practiced in econ and keeps a watchful eye on the comings and goings of the US economy, I just wanted to throw out a poll and see the forum's thoughts on a currently pressing issue, and I appreciate your written responses!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
MrPotatoTed

MrPotatoTed

Posted
Posted

As for number one, I wonder if it’s more connected to increasing wages.  Both a mandated increase and a corporate voluntary increase in “minimum wages.”  
 

For example, I worked at Target in 2000-2001, making $5.35 an hour.  Now I believe they pay more than $15 an hour, as do most of their competitors.  That’s got to be having an impact somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...